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SN children

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Original poster

On the recent threads on ASD traits, does anyones DC hate their head being touched?

20 replies

5inthebed · 21/02/2009 20:52

DS2 has always hate having his head touched. Anyhere from the top of his neck up. Took him to the barbers today, and what a nightmare. He screamed throughout the whole thing saying "All done". Poor barber was trying to do it as quickly and neatly as possible.

For as long as I can remember, we have had problems with DS2 and his head. He hates wearing hats, would scream when he was a baby, a nightmare in winter. He is hysterical at bathtime if he knows he is getting his hair washed, wash it once a week if I'm lucky. Every bathtime starts with him repeating "no hair" over and over again. Cant wash his face, brush his teeth or brush his hair without a melt down.

Does anyone elses DC go on like this and any idea why? Its a nightmare sometimes!

OP posts:

Mum1369 · 21/02/2009 22:19

Gosh this struck a cord with me.My DS1 is 3.5 and has always had a real thing about his head too - I didn't know it was an ASD trait ?
Basically he is ok with his face/ teeth but always complains his head hurts / doesn't want anyone touching it/combing his hair or anything. Hair washing is a constant nightmare as you describe. However, apart from that he seems a completely normal little boy, if anything he is particularly bright for his age.

troutpout · 21/02/2009 22:43

oh i gave up the barbers a long time ago (ds was about 3) I have cut it at home with clippers ever since.
So yes...haircutting used to be a real issue. Tbh i think he would be ok now at the barbers.He has improved loads since he was little...along with all his sensory issues (noise...clothing...etc).
He still can't bear anyone else to cut his fingernails...but he does them himself now that he is older.
Weirdly ds has always liked hats...prefers to keep them on if poss. Likes the snug feeling of them i think (the snugger the better for him i think)
Socks are still a nightmare though!

Original poster

5inthebed · 21/02/2009 23:44

Mum1369, not sure if its an ASD trait. Would love to know other peoples input on it.

Troutpout, Socks! my ds2 has to bath with his socks on! He hates having his socks off. Even changing his socks is a nightmare. He is a lot better now than what he used to be, but is still bad.

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sphil · 21/02/2009 23:59

Yes, we have this too, though DS2 has got a little better with haircuts since a friendly hairdresser started doing his once a week! Washing his hair is a nightmare and don't even get me started on nit combing!

amber32002 · 22/02/2009 08:06

It hurts like hell.

Seriously, it does. Sensory nightmare. In a hairdressers, there's echoey noise, people talking everywhere, all the smells of the potions, the coldness/wetness/hotness of the water or spray, the deafening noise of the clippers or scissors, and all of it registers as pain/overload.

I have my hair done at home by a lady I've known for many, many years whom I trust. It's quiet. I know what to expect. It helps. But it still hurts.

Won't be true for all of us with an ASD, but it is for many.

Mum1369 · 22/02/2009 14:40

Actually - my son also complains if a place is too noisy - by which, he tends to mean to many different noises - like the sensory overload you describe amber. His Dad is dyslexic and his cousin has mild aspergers - I wonder perhaps if he is on the spectrum albeit mildly ???

amber32002 · 22/02/2009 16:59

Could have SPD (sensory processing disorder). Difficult to tell which, but often families find that people in the wider family are diagnosed with a range of ADHD/SPD/ASD/dyslexia/dyspraxia things.

If it's ASD, you'd also expect big social problems and a need for routine/obsession with detail on something?

benjaminsmum · 22/02/2009 17:13

My ds is fine with hair cuts and dentists with him it is nail clipping. He goes bonkers. The last time it took fifteen minutes of screaming that he was scared before he would even come near me. It then took a couple of minutes for each nail. The really anoying thing is that he agrees at the end of it that it doesn't hurt but seems to forget this the next time and we have to go through it all again! Ahh!

coppertop · 22/02/2009 17:21

Ds1 used to have an extremely sensitive head. If someone was blowing bubbles near him and one popped on his head he used to scream the place down. Hair washing was a nightmare. The only way to trim his hair was to do it while he was asleep. He was never going to win a Hair of the Year contest.

By the time he was 4 he desperately needed a proper hair cut and he screamed the place down.

He seems to have become a little less sensitive over the past few years though. He still doesn't like people touching the top of his head but doesn't mind having his hair cut now.

Mum1369 · 22/02/2009 18:59

Hi Amber - maybe SPD then. He'svery sociable and no obvious routines or obsessions. may look into it a bit more
Thanks

countingto10 · 22/02/2009 19:01

My DS1 absolutely hated having his hair done. Use to take 3 people to do it, 1 to cut, 1 to hold him and 1 to hold his head. I have had him throwing up whilst having his hair cut, due to screaming so much.

He is 16 now and still hates any form of touch but will tolerate his hair being done as quickly as possible. He hates the sensation of the cut hair falling onto him and will spend the entire time flicking it off. He has HFA BTW.

Original poster

5inthebed · 22/02/2009 19:11

Yesterday was the 2nd time he has ever been to a barbers. The first time was just before christmas and he was fantastic, so I was really surprised by the screaming dramatics yesterday. He is a cheeky monkey sometimes, and very contrary.

When he seen my mother and MIL today, they both commented on his hair, and each time he responded with "cried". Bless him.

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Pixel · 22/02/2009 19:27

Ds is the same with the socks. He wears them to bed even in summer and hates having them changed. He wasn't too bad with hats when he was small and went through a stage of refusing to take off one he had that was shaped like a christmas pudding. Now he won't wear a hat at all but insists on having the hood of his coat up all the time . When we went out in the recent snow we were amazed that he actually kept gloves on for the first time ever!

The head thing is the worst though. I can't bear to give him the shaven look but we keep his hair fairly short as he won't let us brush or comb it. Thank goodness he has never had nits! Washing his hair is a complete no-no now. I've tried everything but he just gets hysterical and at nearly 9 he is getting so strong. Luckily his hair stays very nice when left to its own devices but I'm hoping things improve before teenage hormones start to kick in. He is getting slightly better at having his hair cut, not terrified like he used to be. I still have to hang on to him but now he just cries a bit when the loose hair hits his face or neck, which is a vast improvement and I take it as a hopeful sign. Our hairdresser has known him since he was born and is very good with him. I don't think the actual salon worries him at all as if it's me having a haircut he wanders about quite happily.

sphil · 22/02/2009 21:01

I wonder if there's anything I can do to help desensitise DS2? He already has his hair cut on his own, (his hairdresser's salon is a summerhouse at the bottom of her garden) and, as I said before, weekly. He hates the hair falling on him, so I always put long sleeves on, but I can't always stop it hitting his hands. If I have to wet his hair I do it with my hands and make sure the water is blood heat. We've found that wetting his hair before it's cut takes away some of his fear at it falling on him (and possibly changes the noise the scissors make as well?) but the initial wetting is traumatic for him.

I know I'm lucky - his hairdresser used to work at the local special school and is very attuned to his sensory difficulties - but I'd still like to make it less of a ordeal if I could. And he looks SOOO much better with short hair!

amber32002 · 23/02/2009 06:59

Sphil, gloves for the problem of the hair hitting his hands? Maybe those washing up gloves as they're quite long and the hair will fall straight off them?

Can he learn to wet his own hair? If we do something ourselves, it can be less traumatic because we know what'll happen and what temperature the water is before it gets on our head?

There are programs that help to desensitise children to things - well worth asking the local charities about any running near you that they'd recommend?

Original poster

5inthebed · 23/02/2009 11:03

I used to shave ds2's hair as well, but he has a really odd shaped skull (plagiocephaly) so wanted him to have longer hair. I doubt he would allow the barber to wet his hair, but might give it a go next time.

There is an ASD trust (Thomas Hedley trust I think) about a 45 minute drive from here that has an ASD barber and dentist, but I don't drive so can't get to it.I've heard good things about it though.

OP posts:

sandysandysandy · 26/02/2009 20:44

Our boy could not tolerate touch at all - it was just awful that I could never hold him/confort him. I cut his hair while he slept -had to do it after he was asleep for 10mins but not more than 40mins that's when he was least likely to wake up. It would take a few nights to do it all.

He's fine with it now and gets his hair cut at the barbers (he recovered with DAN! treatment (epsom salt baths, digestive enzymes and vits and mins.)

hereidrawtheline · 26/02/2009 21:57

DS is exactly the same. I cut his hair myself (rarely) when it starts to get in his eyes. Washing it is a nightmare. Combing it is hell. He shrieks like you are torturing him. Its awful. I wouldnt dare take him to a barbers. He doesnt mind his nails being done. And he likes wearing a hat actually but he is very choosy what hat. In fact if you take him outside without a hat he gets distressed and holds his hair to "stop it blowing away". So yes we have 2 hats he has accepted to wear and I know they will eventually need to be replaced and I am dreading it.

I found when I have to comb his hair it helps a tiny bit to give him a comb and have him comb one of his teddies hair while I am doing his. More than anything I think it is a distraction. I comb his hair so gently I cant even believe he can feel it but he really freaks out. Washing, cutting, combing, they all end in tears.

He also has a problem with noise.

jg3kids · 27/02/2009 19:39

Hi All,

Like you Sandy, we cut hair when asleep, although unfortunately means he has a mullet for few days.
Since implementing SCDiet we have seen dramatic reduction in hypersensitivities
j
x

Sassor · 27/02/2009 23:49

Tom's had hideous head sensitivities in the last year or so and not so great before that. He headbangs frequently and does not allow us to wash or brush or cut his hair AT ALL. Recently things have really calmed down and we attribute this to cranial osteopathy (1 visit) and HANDLE (only been doing this for a month or so)
Sara

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